"So, how do I look? Do you think anyone will take the time to see through this? Or should I go with my usual disguise?" Aster asked Alexis.
Aster was wearing an outfit that consisted of casual-looking blue jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, along with a blue jean jacket over it. His sneakers, like the rest of his attire, were also an expensive designer brand. Even though he was trying to disguise himself, Aster hadn't been able to not flaunt his wealth just a bit with his ensemble. To top it off, he was wearing a baseball cap with the brim over his head and sunglasses to conceal his face as much as possible.
"You look like someone trying not to be noticed. But I guess the sunglasses won't look as suspicious considering the weather today. And at least it's better than the hoodie. You look like you're in a gang whenever you wear that..." Alexis answered wryly.
Aster couldn't help chuckling at his girlfriend's reaction. "Trust me, the crowds that would show up if someone recognized me would almost make you wish we were facing a gang instead." He joked.
They would be going on their biggest outing yet today: the Kaiba Land amusement park. Even with the precautions Aster was taking, there was still a very real chance that it would get out to the public that he and Alexis were a couple if his cover was blown. But this was just another step closer to that eventual reveal for them. Aster wanted to give Alexis the most fun date that he could, and what better way than them getting to be kids again in a place like Kaiba Land? Then once the day was over, he had a plan to finally tell Alexis how he really felt about her. Everything was set. Now he just needed to put it into motion the right way…
"I think I can risk it. I'm just happy that you feel comfortable enough to go out with me in a place with so many people. We've been mostly playing it safe until now, so this is a big step for us." Alexis said thoughtfully.
"Well, everyone will know the truth soon enough, so we might as not worry about it happening a little earlier than we intended if it comes to that today." Aster reasoned. Little did Alexis know just how big of a step he would truly be taking once he told her the truth tonight…
Xxx
A few hours later, Alexis and Aster were walking side by side down the main area of Kaiba Land. Since Aster had lifetime passes to the park, they had been able to get in for free. So far already today, they had gone on a few rides and toured a lot of the exhibits going on, as well as visiting the various game and refreshment stands set up. Aster had even won Alexis a Blue-Eyes White Dragon plushy from the ring toss game. Now, after stopping for lunch at one of the restaurants, Aster had decided that it was time for a little hands-on dueling action.
"Here we are, the Kaiba Corp. Legendary Duelists' Hall of Fame. Holographic technology has evolved even more since those days, so this is meant to make you feel like you are actually dueling one of these guys yourself." Aster explained. He pointed towards the various arenas set up around the room. Across from each duelist in them were holographic projections of famous duelists from the old famous tournaments of years ago like Duelist Kingdom and Battle City.
"Attack, Blue-Eyes! White Lightning!" A very convincing hologram of Seto Kaiba himself shouted from across the dueling platform. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared as it proceeded to blast apart the duelist's monster with a beam from its mouth.
"Ha, ha, ha! You're a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck!" The Kaiba hologram gloated. The quality of its voice was identical to the real Kaiba, yet it didn't have the same canny quality that a recording could tend to possess. If Alexis hadn't been able to see the vague, shimmery transparency of the hologram by looking at it closely enough, then she would have believed that Seto Kaiba himself had stepped out of a time machine.
"So, what do you think? They're somethin' else, aren't they?" Aster asked casually.
"I'll say. But you better be careful. Become too famous and they might just have a hologram of you down here in another ten years." Alexis teased Aster.
Aster chuckled slightly in embarrassment. "I don't think that would be for me." He joked.
"Oh, really now? Because I can just imagine it already: "My Destiny Heroes are far superior to the Elemental Heroes! Ha, ha, ha!" Come on, you know it's what you really want, Aster!" Alexis taunted after finishing her accurate imitation of Aster when he was locked in dueling mode.
Aster pouted as Alexis nudged him playfully in the side with her elbow. "Let's focus on the present right now, shall we? So, who do you want to go up against?" He asked, quickly changing the subject.
Alexis looked around the arena thoughtfully as she sized up her choices. "Hmm… I think I'll go with Yugi." She decided after some short deliberation.
"The King of Games himself, huh? You must be feeling lucky today!" Aster said with a grin.
"He's not really Yugi, you know. But why not go for the biggest challenge here?" Alexis reasoned.
"Well, when you put it like that… I like how you think. Go get 'em, Alexis!" Aster said encouragingly.
After flashing a quick smile and a wink at Aster, Alexis got her duel disk and deck ready and climbed up to the dueling platform.
The holographic image of Yugi looking straight out from his Battle City days flashed into life across from Alexis on the other side of the platform. Even though it was just a hologram, she couldn't help grinning to herself in excitement. She had always wondered what it would be like to duel Yugi himself, and this was at least the next best thing.
"So, you are to be my next opponent. Let's both give this duel our all to the best of our abilities. I know that the Heart of the Cards will help me to prevail. Now… IT'S TIME TO DUE-DUE-DUE-DUE-DUE-DUE-DUE-" Suddenly, the Yugi hologram started stuttering and shaking like crazy, his image blurring in and out repeatedly. He seemed to be permanently stuck on the word, "duel".
"Wha- What's going on!?" Alexis asked in alarm. She took a slight step backwards, disturbed by the display before her.
"Looks like a malfunction. Guess Yugi is having a bit of an off day today. They've only just released this level of dueling AIs, so there was bound to be some kinks somewhere." Aster suggested.
"Not again!" A voice from behind them exclaimed in annoyance, causing Aster and Alexis to turn around.
Mokuba Kaiba had rushed out from the office after hearing the report of the malfunctioning. Having grown quite a bit from the lanky child who had always hovered in his brother's shadow, Mokuba was now a good deal taller with his black hair cut into a shorter and more practical style without any ends coming down to his shoulders. He was dressed in dark navy suit and matching tie to match his professional role of Kaiba Corp.'s vice president.
"I'm sorry about this. Seto and the testers were sure that the prototype for these was successful enough to go ahead with the general release. But we still have problems every once in a great while. To make up for it, you can have this pass so that you don't have to wait in any of the lines today." Mokuba apologized. He handed Alexis a small piece of paper with the VIP initials and Kaiba Corp.'s logo printed on it.
"Oh, that's okay. I'm sure it's hard to keep track of all this. But thanks for this, anyway." Alexis said reassuringly as she took the pass that Mokuba offered her.
"Yeah, don't sweat it, dude. There's still plenty of other things here on the agenda for us to enjoy." Aster said with a casual brush of his hand.
Mokuba looked relieved, but before he could respond, a light beeping sound emitted from him. He touched the tie of his suit in response.
"Mokuba, what's going on?" The voice of Seto Kaiba came from what must have been a communication device embedded in Mokuba's tie.
"Bad news, Seto. There are a couple of malfunctions again with the virtual duelists down at the Action Arena. I'm assessing the situation now." Mokuba reported grimly.
"Damn it. I hate to say it, but we may need to close this attraction down for a while until we've gone through another round of tests. I had thought that they would be ready by now after all the overseeing I did, but I guess we're not there yet… How many cases are there?" Kaiba said carefully.
"Just two. Phoenix and his girlfriend seem to have gotten the worst of it." Mokuba answered.
Alexis couldn't help feeling a little surge of excitement at Mokuba referring to her as Aster's girlfriend. While it was true that she was nervous about their status getting out to the public worldwide, there was something nice about hearing someone else mentioning it. But she couldn't help wondering just how Mokuba had come to that conclusion so easily. She knew that Aster worked on a few charity projects occasionally with the brothers. But did he really tell them about her, or was it just that obvious that they were a couple?
Before Alexis had time to ponder over Mokuba's words any longer, Kaiba replied. "Okay, that's an improvement over the last times, at least. But, um, are any of them…me?" He said somewhat self-consciously, lowering his voice at the question.
Mokuba glanced over to one of the other platforms where a duelist had taken a step back and was looking on awkwardly as the hologram of Marik Ishtar (or at least what he had looked like during his matches in the Battle City Finals) continued to belt out a maniacal laugh of "HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAH!".
"No, not this time, bro." Mokuba reassured his brother.
"Okay. Close down the platforms with the issues and be sure to reimburse those customers." Kaiba commanded.
"I'm on it, Seto. Over and out." Mokuba replied. He then pressed his tie once more to sever the communication.
"I've got to get back to work now. But just know that Kaiba Corp. appreciates your patronage and understanding. Oh, and Aster. Seto told me to tell you that that thing you and he talked about before is all ready now." Mokuba said, becoming a bit cryptic at his last detail.
Aster's face lit up with excitement and relief at Mokuba's words. "Really!? That's great! Tell him I said thanks, will you?" He said happily.
"Will do! See you later then." Mokuba said quickly. He then left them.
"So, what was all that about?" Alexis asked curiously.
"Just some fundraiser they've been helping me with that's been hard to get some of the details going for it. I'll explain later." Aster answered casually.
"Okay." Alexis agreed. She had a feeling there was more to it than that because of how vague Aster was, but she decided not to press it right now. He may have been able to fool a lot of other people with his evasion tactics, but Alexis had been around Aster long enough to read the signs from him.
Xxx
Not long after they had left the dueling arena, Alexis and Aster had done a little shopping and were now relaxing by a tree off to the side with some sodas. Except for the snag with the dueling holograms, it had been a great date for them. And now that they were winding down and getting ready to call it a day, Aster was starting to think more about his confession. Getting able to be kids for a day seemed to be an icebreaker for them and Alexis seemed a lot more relaxed than she had in a while. Aster was starting to feel like he just might be able to pull this off later once they got home. Or so he thought…
When the conversation had hit a lull, two girls who had been eyeing Aster off and on for a while from over by the fountain where they had been hanging out got up and sauntered over to him. They were dressed in skimpy outfits consisting of cut-off shorts and miniskirts that barely covered any of their legs and tight-fitting sleeveless shirts with spare room for their cleavage to show.
"Hey, Aster. Haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" The blonde girl asked in an easy tone.
"Yeah, we didn't expect to see you in a place like this with all the people around. Nice outfit." The red-headed girl joked lightly. She ran her hand lightly down Aster's arm; a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Alexis.
For a moment, Aster looked a little awkward with his situation. But he quickly brushed it off and went into "fan mode". "Nina, Katt. It's good to see you guys again. Enjoying Kaiba Corp.'s finest form of entertainment?" He greeted them easily like they were old pals.
"The rides are cool, but I swear, these games are rigged to squeeze every last ounce of money off you." Nina-the blonde girl-said ruefully.
Aster laughed lightly at Nina's words. "Doesn't that sum up just about every amusement park?" He joked.
"Yeah, we're done with that for the day. But that doesn't mean we still can't have some more fun. We're on our way back to our hotel now. What do you say, Aster? Feel like joining us for a bit?" Katt offered, lowering her voice in a seductive manner at the end of her question. She brushed her leg lightly against Aster's, causing his face to heat up uncomfortably. By now, Alexis looked like she could have shot the Blue-Eyes' attack beams right out of her eyes.
"Yeah, we could have a lot of fun. Just like the last time. Remember?" Nina said coyly.
Aster finally seemed to regain his senses. "I'm sorry, but I'm kind of on a date here. So, I'm gonna have to pass, ladies." He apologized, trying to make his voice sound light and breezy so as not to make the situation even worse than it already was.
Nina and Katt finally took notice of Alexis' presence. Or maybe they had just been pretending that she wasn't there the whole time until Aster had finally said something? Alexis didn't know, but more than anything, she just wanted them gone. She realized that they must be some of the girls that Atticus had told her that Aster had been with before during his Pro League tours. Girls that weren't shy about offering him some fun on the side.
"Oh. Are you his girlfriend?" Katt asked casually.
Alexis didn't like how Nina and Katt were looking at her. While they sounded friendly enough, at the same time, their smiles looked almost condescending. She had seen girls look at her like this before. They were sizing her up. She could almost hear them thinking to themselves: This one's probably a pushover, but she's got quite a rack on her. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Yes, I am his girlfriend, obviously! So, I would appreciate it very much if you simps would quit feeling him up right in front of me and leave us alone so we can get back to our date!" Alexis said angrily.
"Oooh~ She got all serious! How uncool!" Nina teased, causing Katt to snicker.
"Don't worry about us. We wouldn't expect anything after Aster told us that already. Although we wouldn't have minded if you were willing to share…" Katt said easily.
"Yeah. After all, it's not like there aren't still plenty of other hot Pro League duelists available out there. Like that Hell Kaiser. He's pretty yummy." Nina said. She licked her lips slightly at the mention of Zane.
"Yeah! What I would do to get me some of that!" Katt agreed deviously.
Aster couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter, causing Nina and Katt to dissolve into giggles. Alexis glared at him. She didn't understand why Aster was acting so stupid. Why couldn't he just say something instead of standing there like an idiot!?
"Alright, I believe we are done here for the today! Aster!?" Alexis snapped at her boyfriend.
"Oh, um, right! Yeah, we gotta go now." Aster said awkwardly.
"Alright. It was so nice seeing you again, Aster!" Nina said in a sugary tone.
"Yeah, have fun, you guys!" Katt said happily.
Before leaving, Katt turned to Alexis and whispered conspiratorially to her in a not-so-quiet voice. "Don't let his nice suit and tie fool you. This one loves to go wild, if you know what I mean." She said with a knowing smile.
"Don't worry, Katt. Knowing Aster, I'm sure she already knows for herself by now." Nina said in amusement. After a quick wave and smile towards Aster, she and Katt finally left.
As soon as Nina and Katt were out of sight, Alexis turned on Aster. He was in trouble big time and he knew it.
"Just what the hell was all that about, Aster!?" Alexis asked furiously.
"What do you think? They were just some flings from before I met you who got a kick out of seeing me with someone now, that's all. It's nothing to get upset about, Alexis." Aster tried to reason.
"Then please tell me just what it is I am not supposed to get upset about here, Aster! To run into a couple of shameless sluts you've been with before and watch them grope you while you just stand there like nothing is wrong and let it happen!? Why didn't you just tell them that I'm your girlfriend!?" Alexis raged.
Aster raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I had thought that you didn't want us to say anything about that yet, Alexis. I know it was awkward and I apologize for that, but I was trying to respect your wishes. As it is, I wouldn't be surprised if we somehow ended up on the six o' clock news now after that." He answered, trying to remain calm.
"Who cares as long as it gets rid of people like that faster!? And you were way too nice to them! "Sorry, I'm on a date here." What do you mean you're sorry!?" Alexis continued, giving an ugly, nasally sounding imitation of Aster's earlier words.
"Look, like it or not, I have to be polite to my fans." Aster pointed out.
"Oh, you've been more than polite enough to them based on what they said. I'm sure they're big fans of what you did for them in the bedroom, if anything." Alexis complained.
"What do you want from me, Alexis!? I already apologized and it's not like you have anything to feel threatened about. That was in the past. I'm with you now, and I don't want anyone else, whether it's for dating or anything else." Aster said in frustration.
"I want to know just how many girls you've fucked before you were with me." Alexis demanded bluntly. She was taking this too far and she knew it. But it was too late to stop now. She was on a roll. It suddenly felt like all the hidden insecurities and questions she had had about Aster had boiled over and exploded. How she would wonder just how he had gotten so good at what he did to her when they were alone together. Just what this secret life of his that Atticus had hinted to her really involved. All the things she would wonder and worry about on occasion but had never been able to work up the courage to start a conversation with Aster about.
"Okay, fair enough. I suppose this conversation was due to happen eventually. Let's just say that it's not any more than I can count on my hand and leave it at that. Now, is there anything else you'd like to know about my past sexual history? Like what kind of underwear they had? Or perhaps how long we did it or what positions we used? I'm sorry, Alexis. But I don't really go for the jealous treatment." Aster vented. It was getting harder for him to try to be patient with Alexis about this. He didn't understand why she was going on and on like this. It wasn't like he had cheated on her.
"That's pretty rich coming from you. You practically throw a fit any time I want to spend some time with my friends, or even just if I mention them sometimes. Yet I'm supposed to just be all hunky-dory with girls throwing themselves at you right in front of me!" Alexis countered.
"That is not true! I've been perfectly civil to them, and you know it! Just when have I ever even said that I didn't want you spending any time with them!?" Aster argued.
"Does the Slifer Dorm ring any bells?" Alexis asked snidely.
"That's different. I haven't ever tried to discourage you from spending time with them outside of anything related to living arrangements." Aster said.
"It doesn't matter what you say, Aster! Just the way you react speaks for itself. If I don't keep the topic on us nearly 24-7, I know you wouldn't be able to handle it!" Alexis insisted.
Before Aster could say anything else, an excited shout came from somewhere behind them. "OH, MY GOD! IT'S ASTER PHOENIX!" An ecstatic female voice shouted. Clearly, Alexis had been loud enough with dropping his name to draw enough attention for someone to recognize him.
"Oh, shit..." Aster muttered under his breath. Excited murmurs and shouts-mostly from girls-amplified around them as a crowd started moving in on him. It was total pandemonium.
Aster turned back around to see Alexis starting to walk away from him.
"Wait! Where are you going!?" Aster asked as he tried to keep pace with Alexis' angry strides.
"For a walk. I want to be alone right now. So, don't follow me, Aster. Besides, your public awaits you and I wouldn't want to keep you from them." Alexis said firmly, adding a sarcastic edge to her last sentence. Without another word, she continued to walk briskly away from him.
"No! Alexis, wait! Come back!" Aster called out in vain. But it was too late. He could only stand by and look on helplessly as he was swallowed up by the sea of his fans.
To be continued…
AN: Sorry for the long wait here! I know what you're thinking. Another argument, right? Sorry, but it needed to happen. But this is not a break-up, and it will get resolved in the next chapter. So, don't worry. I can't say that the drama is over, though. Once we're done with the next chapter, it's time for the canon school field trip with the tag duel against Sarina. It is during this time that Aster will finally confess his real feelings to Alexis. So, for the ones who are waiting for that, just try to bear with me and hang on a little longer. I am getting there! Xd (Oh, and a funny thing: The Yugi hologram malfunction is based on a Youtube video of him stuck in about an hour-long loop of "It's time to duel!" XD)
Kias- Yeah, I don't understand it when people say they only want Alexis with Jaden, but the OC is still okay? Zane and Alexis. I remember that. Just what happened to Royalshipping, anyway? It seems to have pretty much just died a miserable death. :( In the original version, it sort of takes the wind out of the sails of that ship during a scene where Alexis tells Zane that he is like a brother to her. But I still like to believe that they have a unique type of communication that they alone share. Romantic subtext with Atticus? The Yugioh series like to get dramatic with their sibling bonds, but I'm afraid I never saw any further than that. Still, it is pretty damn sad that it is even more popular to ship her with her own brother than with Aster. It is very hard to "win" with Rareshipping. On one side, the people who only ship Alexis with Jaden won't like it. And on the other, it is usually people who hate it just because Aster isn't paired up with Zane, Sartorius or insert-any-male-GX-character-name-here, and they usually only want Alexis with Chazz or Jim. But seriously, I don't get it either. I've seen her paired up with just about all the other GX guys (and Blair) outside of Chumley and Axel more than Aster. I don't understand the aversion to this pairing, especially since he is the one who has the most in common with her. But hey, that's why I'm writing this. Because if I don't, chances are nobody else will. XD